Nobody knows Tokyo’s best foodies’ addresses better than Yukari Sakamoto,a Japanese- American chef and book author living in Tokyo with her husband and their small son. We met with Yukari at her Tsukiji market tour and became friends ever since. I asked Yukari to share her favourite ramen addresses in…

Crossing the threshold into Toru Okuda’s (7 Rue de la Trémoille 75008, Paris; tel.01 40 70 19 19) newest venture in Paris is like stepping into a hidden corner of Japan. Famous for his Michelin-starred Tokyo restaurants Ginza Okuda (2 stars) and Ginza Kojyu (3 stars), Okuda’s first international address…

I’ve never been to Okuda’s san flagship restaurants Koju (3*) and Okuda (2*) in Tokyo, so I can’t compare, but the quality of the products at his newly opened restaurant in Paris couldn’t get any better, while his skills and cooking techniques are simply mind-blowing. Pictures and review coming soon!

Beautiful food at Kyoto’s Kikunoi… P.S. Longer posts will be resumed soon!

Despite August being my least favourite time of eating raw fish in Japan, Harutaka sushi-ya was as outstanding as always.Harutaka Takahashi, who started his sushi chef career at the famous (or… infamous) Sukiyabashi Jiro, was especially generous this time. The snacks prior to sushi (otsumame) included abalone and three types…

Before you ask me how I managed to get a reservation at Kawamura steakhouse in Tokyo – I didn’t. There are two Kawamuras which both happen to be in Ginza. The famous one where it’s almost impossible to get into as the chef gives priority to his regular customers (I…

Despite the fact that I’ve been to Japan several times (12 if to be precise), I recently found myself in two situations where, to my dismay, I realized that I had not yet learned, or at least kept in mind, the elementary rules concerning tipping in Japan… The first time,…

If young and aspiring chefs in the West might believe that being creative and innovative is the key to one’s first Michelin star, in Japan you can get a Michelin star for being really good in what you are doing, even if what you are doing is deep-frying pork cutlets.…

In the normal world of fine dining 38000 Yen or 290 Euros will buy you a tasting menu containing at least a bit of truffles, caviar or other expensive ingredients. Not in Tokyo’s 3 Michelin starred 10 seat tempura restaurant 7 Chome Kyoboshi (Ozio Ginza Building 6F, 5-5-9 Ginza, Chuo-ku,…

Chef Seiji Yamamoto is fond of dragons. The walls of his restaurant and the 400-year old presentation plates are all adorned with these mythical creatures. Even the restaurant’s name, ryugin, means “singing dragon”, while Nihonryori translates as “Japanese cuisine”. Three Michelin star Nihonryori RyuGin (7-17-24 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo; tel.03-3423-8006) specializes in…